The Wars of Reconstruction: The Brief, Violent History of America's Most Progressive Era, by Douglas R. Egerton
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The Wars of Reconstruction: The Brief, Violent History of America's Most Progressive Era, by Douglas R. Egerton
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By 1870, just five years after Confederate surrender and thirteen years after the Dred Scott decision ruled blacks ineligible for citizenship, Congressional action had ended slavery and given the vote to black men. That same year, Hiram Revels and Joseph Hayne Rainey became the first African-American U.S. senator and congressman respectively. In South Carolina, only twenty years after the death of arch-secessionist John C. Calhoun, a black man, Jasper J. Wright, took a seat on the state’s Supreme Court. Not even the most optimistic abolitionists had thought such milestones would occur in their lifetimes. The brief years of Reconstruction marked the United States’ most progressive moment prior to the civil rights movement.
Previous histories of Reconstruction have focused on Washington politics. But in this sweeping, prodigiously researched narrative, Douglas Egerton brings a much bigger, even more dramatic story into view, exploring state and local politics and tracing the struggles of some fifteen hundred African-American officeholders, in both the North and South, who fought entrenched white resistance. Tragically, their movement was met by ruthless violence--not just riotous mobs, but also targeted assassination. With stark evidence, Egerton shows that Reconstruction, often cast as a "failure" or a doomed experiment, was rolled back by murderous force. The Wars of Reconstruction is a major and provocative contribution to American history.
The Wars of Reconstruction: The Brief, Violent History of America's Most Progressive Era, by Douglas R. Egerton- Amazon Sales Rank: #228398 in Books
- Published on: 2015-10-13
- Released on: 2015-10-13
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.18" h x 1.19" w x 6.18" l, 1.00 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 448 pages
Review
“The history of [the] era [of Reconstruction] has rarely if ever been as well told as it is in Douglas R. Egerton's forcefully argued and crisply written The Wars of Reconstruction.” ―Wall Street Journal
“Key figures develop into rich characters, balancing Egerton's own objective, wide-seeing perspective, which even explores the revisionist Reconstruction histories that informed the American consciousness, particularly the pernicious effects of influential racist cinema. All told, Egerton's study is an adept exploration of a past era of monumental relevance to the present and is recommended for any student of political conflict, social upheaval, and the perennial struggle against oppression.” ―Publishers Weekly
“[A] fierce corrective . . . Egerton's book is thorough and cogent in recreating the stories of these fearless, articulate and conscientious black activists and politicians . . .” ―Bookforum
“A richly detailed history . . . An illuminating view of an era whose reform spirit would live on in the 1960s civil rights movement.” ―Kirkus Reviews
“Understanding issues that continue to roil American politics--the definition of citizenship, the meaning of equality, the relative powers of the national and state governments--requires knowledge of Reconstruction. For this reason alone, the appearance of Douglas R. Egerton's The Wars of Reconstruction is especially welcome . . . its dramatic account will challenge and enlighten . . . Egerton paints a dramatic portrait of on-the-ground struggles for equality in an era of great hope and brutal disappointment.” ―Eric Foner, New York Times Book Review
"The Wars of Reconstruction is one of the best and most readable studies of that era to appear in many years. Its emphasis on the active role that African Americans played in this crucial period is especially welcome. Douglas Egerton has given us another gripping, thoughtful, and deeply researched book about slavery and the fight for freedom." ―Bruce Levin, author of The Fall of the House of Dixie: The Civil War and the Social Revolution That Transformed The South
“Offers a fresh perspective on why the grand experiment of Reconstruction failed and how it took nearly a century afterward for African Americans to gain any semblance of equal rights in the South.” ―Bookpage
“This is a very 'Du Boisian' work, sharing the great scholar's view that Reconstruction wasn't just about rebuilding the Southern economy, but reconstructing democracy throughout the US. Recounting Northern blacks' struggles for voting rights and the national quest for universal public education bolsters Du Bois's insight, as do sections assessing Reconstruction in scholarly and popular memory. Through detailed evaluations of officeholders and other activists, Egerton asserts that Reconstruction was the most progressive era in US history. Proponents of the 1960s and, especially, the New Deal may differ, but Egerton's strong case stimulates debate. Summing Up: Recommended.” ―CHOICE
“[Egerton's] crisp, immersive history follows an army of black activists, politicians, ex-slaves, educators, clergy, veterans and their white allies who hoped to remake the devastated South.” ―The Atlantic, Best Books of 2014
About the Author Douglas R. Egerton is a professor of history at LeMoyne College. He is the author of six books, including Year of Meteors: Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, and the Election that Brought on the Civil War, He Shall Go Out Free: The Lives of Denmark Vesey, Gabriel's Rebellion: The Virginia Slave Conspiracies of 1800 and 1802, and Death or Liberty: African Americans and Revolutionary America. He lives near Syracuse, New York.
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Most helpful customer reviews
41 of 45 people found the following review helpful. A New History of Reconstruction By Robin Friedman The Reconstruction Era that followed the Civil War remains one of the most controversial periods of American history. At one time, the predominant view was the Reconstruction was a tragic blunder forced upon a defeated, prostrate South by a vengeful Congress. Over the years, this understanding of Reconstruction has gradually given way as historians have emphasized Reconstruction as a way of implementing the purposes for which the Civil War was fought by protecting the economic and civil rights of the Freedpeople.In his new book, "The Wars of Reconstruction: the Brief, Violent history of America's Most Progressive Era" (2014, Douglas Egerton strongly interprets Reconstruction in accordance with the second view. A Professor of History at Le Moyne College, Egerton has written widely on African American history in the Revolutionary, pre-Civil War, and Civil War eras. In addition to differences of interpretation, Reconstruction is a difficult subject to master due to its breadth and complexity: understanding Reconstruction requires consideration of Federal action, state and local governmental action, and the actvities of many individuals over the Reconstructed South.This book does not have the character of nuance. Egerton advances his interpretation forcefully and strongly. This is not necessarily a flaw in a historical study, particularly in a study that counters a view that still has a wide following among lay people and probably among some scholars. Edgerton's book is meticulous, full of factual detail, and well documented in his extensive references. (Unfortunately, the book lacks a bibliography). The problem with the book is less in the strong interpretation it takes and more in the manner of presentation. In the early chapters, the book is dry, repetitive and unfocused. Egerton wants to explain the important role African American soldiers played in the Civil War as a backdrop to the Reconstruction Era. This is a sensible approach, but the book comes dangerously close to losing focus as Egerton offers a long series of specific anecdotal stories and incidents that seem both disorganized and disjointed. Patience is required to wade through the opening chapters of the book.The flow of the book improves markedly following Appatomattox and the assassination of Lincoln. Egerton discusses Andrew Johnson and his leniency towards the South and its leaders, the Freedman's Bureau and early land reform and educational efforts, the Reconstructionist Congress and its clashes with Johnson, and, increasingly, the violence and destruction in the South which led to the end of Reconstruction. As the book progresses, Egerton gives increasing emphasis to the local history as unrepentant Confederates tried to defeat Reconstruction with violence. Egerton argues that Reconstruction, with its unhappy end, accomplished a great deal in education and civil rights, and had a lasting positive impact.Egerton gives a great deal of attention to land reform. A major issue, then and today, was whether the large plantations which slaveholders had fled upon the approach of the Union armies should have been divided into small farms and made available to the Freedpeople and other Union soldiers. The prevailing view at the time, even among those advocating for strong measures, was that this course would have been confiscatory. Measures of this scope probably would have few adherents even today. The unwillingness to change patterns of land ownership in the South probably had a great impact on the extent to which the Reconstruction which followed could have been successful especially in the short range.Egerton emphasizes the violence in the South particularly as it involved voting rights throughout the South, with attention to massacres in Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and elsewhere. He also emphasizes the courage, even-handendess, and in many instances high educational attainments of the African Americans who took leadership positions in Reconstruction. The book offers short biographies of notable leaders who will be unfamiliar to most readers. Egerton also argues that the Northerners who came South to help implement Reconstruction were, for the most part, not the corrupt opportunists of some stereotypes. Rather they tended to be idealistic and educated and seriously committed to advancing the civil rights of the Freedpeople.In the latter chapters of the book, Egerton offers a historiography of Reconstruction by showing how interpretation has shifted both in scholarship and in popular representations, such as the films "The Birth of a Nation", "Gone with the Wind", and Disney's "Song of the South". He describes the pioneering work of historians such as W.E.B. DuBois and John Hope Franklin which has been built upon by subsequent historians. This discussion is valuable for many reasons, both in showing the development of Egerton's own interpretation and in raising issues about the nature of historical inquiry. Are the different interpretations largely reflections of the predispositions at different times of their proponents? Are the studies hopelessly relativistic? My view is that they are not relativistic in the sense that continued study and development of interpretations gradually brings a fuller and improving understanding of "what actually happened" without ever reaching finality. There is a great deal to be learned from Egerton. By the same token, in reading this book, I did not have the sense of getting the "full" conclusive story. History and historical study develops with time and develops as the understanding of people develops.Egerton has written a provocative, thoughtful book for readers wishing to understand Reconstruction and its history.Robin Friedman
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. While the Reconstruction Era lasted only a short time its ... By Maggie While the Reconstruction Era lasted only a short time its impact on the nation’s progression was far reaching. Scholar Douglas R. Egerton attempts to encapsulate the trials and tribulations of Reconstruction in his publication, The Wars of Reconstruction: The Brief, Violent History of America’s Most Progressive Era. The slaves might not have freed themselves, but it was up to them, according to Egerton, to build some sort of appreciable meaning into that freedom. For that purpose Egerton sets Reconstruction in the South.Unlike many of his contemporaries, Egerton does not rely on narrative stylings to tell Reconstruction’s story; instead he utilizes an array of local primary sources such as newspaper reports, case law, and various other outlets to impart the story for his audience. Almost immediately he sets a tone in which “Reconstruction did not fail,” as some Historians have long maintained; rather he states it was “violently overthrown by [the same] men who had fought for slavery during the Civil War, [continuing] that battle as guerrilla partisans” throughout the succeeding decades. (p. 19)Arguably, his most successful chapter is the fourth: “The Lord Has Sent Us Books and Teachers;” his focus being “missionaries and community formation.” (p. 134) The shortly lived Freedmen’s Bureau assisted in the transition of slaves becoming ‘settled’ free citizens in the South. It is also in this chapter that Egerton reminds readers “that the Reconstruction era neither reached a precise conclusion nor failed to achieve all of its goals,” an important distinction to make considering segregation would continue for nearly eight more decades, before Brown vs. The Board of Education would be voted on. “Hundreds of new schools [were] sponsored by the federal Freedmen’s Bureau,” and as Egerton kindly notes- it was an uphill battle. (p. 11) Northern teachers traveled south, doing so accompanied by Union troops; the Bureau was never “elevate(d)…into the president’s advisory circle [and so] remained under military auspices.” (p. 147) Blacks had to force legislation that would require their children to maintain “regular attendance” in hopes of remedying the “forced ignorance and degradation” of their past.” (p. 148) The Freedmen Bureau had limited resources, funds, teachers, and facilities with which to indoctrinate the thousands of children, and their parents, who needed (demanded) educating; accordingly, Egerton does not shy away from the dedication and courage Northern teachers showcased. Especially in the face of homegrown terrorists such as the Ku Klux Klan.That the Freedmen’s Bureau had such “spectacular gains in literacy” proves, according to Egerton, it’s success as an organization and the agency of Reconstruction in our nation’s history. (p. 166) The implementation of schools in the South were only one of the functions the Freedmen’s Bureau undertook, being responsible for assisting with housing, providing food, medical assistance; truly reforming “every aspect of society.” (p. 270)At the end of the day (by the end of the his book), I believe one of the most significant take aways from The Wars of Reconstruction is that 150 years after the Civil War, after Reconstruction, we still find it “impossible to separate religion and government” and our schools are still a mess on the grounds of funding, location, and the ethnicity of student body population. (p. 143) It is impossible to do justice to any book in a review of less than one thousand words, however, Egerton puts forth spectacular effort breaking down a largely misunderstood portion of American history. He not only explicates the successes of Reconstruction, but elucidates how failures and setbacks were at the hands of homegrown “terrorists” set on thwarting true nationalism and growth. (p. 240)
14 of 18 people found the following review helpful. Familiar history to historians of the era but a good read for lay readers. By KEW Much of what readers will find in Egerton's book is well-known to professional historians (especially those who have read tomes by Eric Foner, W. E. B. Du Bois, John Hope Franklin, etc.). Nevertheless, Wars of Reconstruction represents an accessible text for lay readers who want to understand how different groups of people experienced the policy initiatives that flowed out from the Civil War. One key intervention is Egerton's engagement, in the final chapter, of the issue of the wars over how people (historians, politicians, ordinary citizens, etc.) remember (or forget) specific parts of the era of Reconstruction. This last chapter pairs well with such texts as Janney's Remembering the Civil War and Blight's Race and Reunion.
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